


Keep Your Head Up

by sakomin



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Crack, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Canon, spoilers for S6
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2019-05-28 18:54:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15055568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakomin/pseuds/sakomin
Summary: Shiro and Slav connect after the events of season 6. Needless to say, they're both a little surprised.





	Keep Your Head Up

 

It had been days since Shiro had come back to the people he now considered his family. In a way, he had always been there, considering the last bit of him was stored within the black lion—but now he’s really back, in his own (?) body and finally able to reconnect with his fellow paladins, now including Allura, and Coran as well. They were on their way back to Earth, stopping on many different planets and taking breaks along the way. Pidge insisted they stop to bring Matt along, and they decided to bring Slav along as well in order to ensure that rebuilding the Castle of Lions would be a smooth process.

Shiro couldn’t remember the last time he had seen Slav. It felt like it had been ages, but after everything that has happened, in space no less, time was a foggy and difficult concept.  He would be a liar if he said he didn’t feel a sense of longing to see the highly intelligent eight-legged alien once again.

After informing the Blade of Marmora about the events that had taken place just days before, they reached the Blade of Marmora headquarters and requested Slav’s assistance. Everyone got in their respective lions, with Coran accompanying Allura, Matt accompanying Pidge, and Slav in the black lion with Shiro. The air was so thick it could be cut with a knife, and Shiro could feel a lump in his throat. When was the last time he was this nervous? He couldn’t remember. There was a cough that broke the silence, and Shiro turned to look at Slav, who’s eyes were lowered and looking down on the floor of the cockpit. The blue-gray and white fur on his pool noodle-shaped body bristled slightly under Shiro’s firm gaze.

“Is… everything alright with you?” Shiro started. He could tell that Slav felt intimidated by his presence, but he had no idea why. He could only hope that it would get better, because they were a long way from home, and were going to be in close quarters for quite a while.

Slav lifted his head and made eye contact with him. For a second, it was hard for him to breathe, and he could feel his heartrate increase. He didn’t need to have a mental link with his lion to know he was being laughed at. Tossing his thoughts out of the window, he refocused his attention onto Slav.

“You know, you can talk to me about anything. I don’t mind listening.” Slav seemed to brighten up at this, his beautiful fur somehow looking healthier and shinier… or had it always been like that?

“It is just… I never expected for any of this to happen. Out of all the realities I see in my head, this is one that I gave no thought. For you to die, and only be brought back by pure luck, is not something I truly could’ve predicted, even though I saw it.” Shiro was almost taken aback by the sheer level of vulnerability Slav was putting forth. He hadn’t realized that it had meant that much to Slav. He could feel his cheeks heating up— _ugh, now is not the time!_

“I hope you’re not blaming yourself for it. There’s no way you can predict which reality will come true, even if you are able to see the possibilities. I didn’t see it coming, and I didn’t expect for you to either. You don’t need to be responsible for that.”

Slav looked up at him sadly, his dark pink eyes glimmering with what looked like the beginnings of tears. Shiro could feel has heart squeeze in sadness just by looking at that face. Slav took a deep breath before speaking. “The truth is… you mean a lot to me. Ever since you rescued me from Beta Traz, I have felt so free and thankful. The things they did to me there were terrible, and it is because of you that I never have to go through it again. I finally feel like I am a part of something huge, something where I can use my intellect without having it be abused. And it is because of you that we are finally able to put a dent in the Galra empire.”

Shiro turned in his seat so that he was fully facing the lanky, wormy body of his temporary roommate, friend, and… friend. Because that is all they were. Just friends.

Just friends.

“Slav, I’m glad that you feel this way. I’m glad we were able to rescue you from Beta Traz as well… it’s disgusting what they were doing to you, and it pains me that you had to go through that for as long as you did,” he said gently.

“No, there is more,” Slav began slowly, “I must confess… my feelings for you are not strictly platonic. I find myself sometimes wishing that there was more between us. When you carried me out of Beta Traz, I had never felt so alive. So loved, and cherished. I had never felt such care from another individual before that moment in my life, and I still cannot let it go. I understand if you do not feel the same, but I cannot hold onto these feelings in secret any longer. It is likely that it will result in a fatal explosion, or worse.”

Shiro’s heart leaped out of his chest, his blush coming back full force along with a hammering heartbeat. Slav… likes him back? He pinched the skin on his hand away from Slav’s line of view and was surprised that he didn’t wake up from a dream, because that’s what this has to be; a dream. There’s no way he could be this lucky, after all of the suffering he had been put through since he was taken from Kerberos.

Slav mistook the bewildered expression on Shiro’s face as disgust and turned away stiffly. “I understand. I will leave you be for the time being, then,” he whispered softly, and then scuttled away on his eight legs. Shiro raised his arm to stop him, a tear escaped from Shiro’s eye and it rolled onto his cheek before plopping onto the ground.

“Slav, wait!”

The god-like creature before him halted, allowing for Shiro to let out the words he had trapped in his heart for so long.

“You didn’t give me a chance to respond. The truth is, I have feelings for you, too. Ever since Beta Traz.” He smiled softly as Slav turned completely to meet his gaze, and his heart panged for the millionth time that night as he saw his love’s eyes reddened with tears. Slav scuttled up to him before Shiro could even blink and wrapped his eight powerful arms around his torso like a Facehugger from the Alien movies.

“Takashi… I love you.” He said in his thick King Julian accent. Shiro glanced down fondly before leaning forward and pressing a kiss on top of Slav’s furry head.

“I love you too, Slav.”

**Author's Note:**

> again I'm so sorry, hope you enjoyed! :)


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